African Journal of Laboratory Medicine

BACKGROUND: Clinicians rely on local antimicrobial resistance pattern data to guide empiric treatment for seriously ill patients when culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results are not immediately available. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyse 5-year trends in antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. METHODS: Bacteriology reports from 2017 to 2021 at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute were analysed retrospectively...

BACKGROUND: The Kell blood group system is clinically important in transfusion medicine, particularly in patients with antibodies specific to Kell antigens. To date, genetic variations of the Kell metallo-endopeptidase ( KEL ) gene among Thai populations remain unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the frequencies of KEL*03 and KEL*04 alleles among Thai blood donors using an in-house polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method...

BACKGROUND: Fosfomycin treatment of urinary tract infections is increasingly attractive due to escalating antibiotic resistance rates among urinary pathogens. Standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods perform poorly for fosfomycin as there is poor correlation between susceptibility results and clinical outcomes in urinary pathogens other than Escherichia coli . OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the performance of fosfomycin susceptibility testing in E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to determine whether fosfomycin susceptibility is associated with molecular resistance mechanisms...

BACKGROUND: Standardising procedures is the best way to harmonise and strengthen the quality of laboratory-based antimicrobial resistance surveillance. Since 2018, Burkina Faso has developed and disseminated the national manual of procedures for performing antibiotic susceptibility tests in sentinel laboratories within its national antimicrobial resistance surveillance network. OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to assess these sentinel laboratories' compliance with good practices for antibiotics susceptibility tests...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: All medical laboratories must participate in proficiency testing (PT) programmes to ensure high-quality results. Proficiency testing samples mimic clinical samples; however, PT programmes for detection of bacteria in blood products are not routinely performed due to unavailability of matrix-equivalent samples. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and test a matrix-equivalent PT programme using blood products as the basis matrix. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2021 until June 2021, using 52 blood products comprising 36 pooled platelet and 16 red blood cell products at the South African National Blood Service PT laboratory in Gauteng...

BACKGROUND: Accurate potassium measurements are necessary for effective clinical management of hyperkalaemia. Pre-analytical factors may affect laboratory measurements, leading to erroneous results and inappropriate patient management and negatively impact the efficiency and finances of laboratories and hospitals. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the impact of rejected potassium test requests on laboratory service. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study to assess potassium test data at a public laboratory in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, using samples collected from an academic hospital, peripheral hospitals, and outpatient clinics between January 2018 to December 2018...

BACKGROUND: Haemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell disease and β-thalassaemia, are monogenic disorders with a relatively higher prevalence among malaria-endemic areas in Africa. Despite this prevalence, most African countries lack the necessary resources for diagnosing and managing these debilitating conditions. AIM: This study provides a critical review of newborn screening for detecting haemoglobinopathies in Africa, highlighting challenges and proposing strategies for improved diagnosis and management...

BACKGROUND: Critical value notification (CVN) entails notifying doctors or other laboratory users of aberrant laboratory results that threaten the patient's life and of any values for which reporting delays could negatively impact the patient's health. Critical value notification practices in clinical laboratories in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a nationwide survey to obtain baseline information on CVN practice by Nigeria's laboratories...

UNLABELLED: Antimicrobial resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria is a global health concern necessitating research and the development of effective antimicrobial agents. This study, conducted in May 2020 in Mwanza, Tanzania, aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of metabolites from soil-isolated Bacillus species against clinical bacterial pathogens. One soil-isolated Bacillus species, identified as Bacillus altitudinis/pumilus complex, showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive cocci, including a methicillin-resistant S...

BACKGROUND: Integrated diagnostic networks, which are themselves dependent on robust specimen transport solutions, are fundamental to effective healthcare systems. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to pilot an online marketplace for the transport of specimens throughout a laboratory network in Ghana. METHODS: Independent drivers were matched with health facilities that required specimen transport using a suite of mobile applications and web portals developed for this study...

BACKGROUND: Automated haematology analysers such as the Sysmex XN-3000 (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan) utilise white blood cell (WBC) flags to identify quantitative and qualitative abnormalities. Owing to clinical and biological factors, the sensitivity and specificity of the flags vary when compared to microscopy, the gold-standard method for assessing peripheral blood smear (PBS) morphology. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the performance of the Sysmex XN-3000 haematology analyser in comparison to PBS microscopy for the detection of WBC abnormalities...

BACKGROUND: Countries across the globe report an increase in expenditure associated with medical laboratory testing. In 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services reported that laboratory test expenditures increased by $459 million US dollars (USD) from $7.1 billion USD in 2018. In South Africa, laboratory testing expenditure in the public sector increased from $415 million USD in 2014 to $723 million USD in 2021. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an innovative software, electronic gatekeeping (EGK), on medical laboratory test expenditures at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Within the African meningitis belt, yearly outbreaks of cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM), with incidence rates of 10-100 cases per 100 000 population, are typically punctuated by explosive epidemics occurring every 8-12 years, with incidence rates that can exceed 1000 cases per 100 000 population. From 1928 to 2018, Nigeria recorded the highest number (21%) of cases in the region. The reactive vaccination strategy, a protocol with major drawbacks, has been the vaccination method utilised in Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: Serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), urine protein electrophoresis and immunofixation electrophoresis were traditionally utilised for the diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathies. The quantitative serum-free light chain (SFLC) assay is reportedly more sensitive and has been introduced to recent clinical guidelines. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate SFLC test utilisation and describe SPE findings in patients with abnormal SFLC ratios. METHODS: A retrospective audit of SFLC analyses was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, from May 2018 to April 2020...

BACKGROUND: Patients with faecal carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales serve as reservoirs and sources of dissemination and infection. OBJECTIVE: This report examined immunocompetent patients for faecal carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales in a district care hospital setting in Ghana. METHODS: Between March 2019 and May 2020, cross-sectional sampling was performed to enrol patients and conduct questionnaire-structured interviews for factors that predispose patients to ESBL faecal carriage...

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates are typically stored at -70 °C in cryovials containing 1 mL aliquots of a liquid medium, with or without 50% glycerol. Multiple uses of the culture stock may decrease the strain viability while increasing the risk of culture contamination. Small culture aliquots may be more practical; however, storage capacity remains challenging. MicrobankTM beads (25 beads/vial) for the long-term storage of fungal cultures is well documented, but their use for storing MTBC isolates is uninvestigated...

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidaemia is a known cause of cardiovascular mortality. Persons living with HIV are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease due to lipid metabolism disorders associated with HIV or its therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated concentrations of lipoproteins and apolipoprotein C-III and E, as a way of assessing cardiometabolic risks among HIV patients. METHODS: We enrolled 50 HIV-negative persons and 100 HIV-positive patients, 50 on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 50 treatment-naïve persons, from the Central Hospital and the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, between May 2015 and November 2015...